TWI558008B - Connector - Google Patents

Description

Connector

The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector that supports a high data rate.

The daughter card and memory module are typically mounted to a main circuit substrate via a vertical connector. The vertical connector generally includes a pair of sockets and includes a plurality of terminals mounted on opposite sides of the docking slot, the plurality of terminals having a plurality of terminals depending on whether the plurality of terminals are used for differential or single-ended Signaling a plurality of contacts arranged in a desired pattern. For differential signal transmission, multiple signal contacts will typically be arranged in a signal-signal-ground configuration that repeats as desired. The single-ended structure can have a signal-to-ground pattern that repeats as desired. Although single-ended structures have more channels, single-ended systems are prone to crosstalk than differential structures and thus often require additional shielding or are forced to operate at lower data rates to provide reliable signal transmission. Although the spacing between the terminals can be reduced to some extent, the final tolerance problem prevents further increases in density. Some people will appreciate a connector system that provides a higher signal transmission density.

A connector is disclosed that includes a base having a slot. The slot can extend longitudinally along the base. A plurality of terminals are held by the base and configured to provide a plurality of contacts on either side of the slot. The contact portion of the terminal has an annular structure. The contact portion may be disposed such that the annular shape has a length greater than a width. In an embodiment, the connector may include a differential pair vertically aligned in the slot and two rows of terminals may be disposed on each side of the slot.

Thus, in some embodiments, the connector of the present invention includes a base having a slot, the slot extending longitudinally along the base, the base being configured to be mounted on a circuit substrate; a terminal having a first contact portion; and a second terminal having a second contact portion, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion are vertically aligned on a first side of the slot Wherein the first terminal and the second terminal are configured to provide a differential pair while the first terminal and the second terminal are in a plane orthogonal to the circuit substrate.

In some implementations, the contacts of the first terminal and the second terminal are configured in a ring shape.

In some embodiments, each ring has a length and a width, and the length is at least twice the width.

In some implementations, the method further includes: a third terminal having a third contact portion; and a fourth terminal having a fourth contact portion, the third contact portion and the fourth contact portion being A second side of the slot is vertically aligned.

In some implementations, the first contact portion, the second contact portion, the third contact portion, and the fourth contact portion are in a single plane.

Thus, in some embodiments, the connector of the present invention includes a base having a slot, the slot having a first side and a second side; a first row of terminals from the base Holder, each terminal in the first row has a first contact portion on a first side of the slot, each first contact portion has an annular structure, wherein the annular structure has a length And a width, the length being at least twice the width; and a second row of terminals held by the base, each terminal in the second row having a second side of the slot A second contact portion, each of the second contact portions has an annular structure, wherein the annular structure has a length and a width, the length being at least twice the width.

In some implementations, the connector is a right angle connector.

In some implementations, the connector is a vertical connector.

10‧‧‧Edge card

120‧‧‧Connector

120a‧‧‧Installation side

120b‧‧‧ docking side

125‧‧‧ slots

126a‧‧‧ first side

126b‧‧‧ second side

130‧‧‧Base

135‧‧‧Sheet

150a, 150b‧‧‧ terminals

152a, 152b‧‧‧ Body Department

154a, 154b‧‧‧ tail

156a, 156b‧‧‧Contacts

157a, 157b‧‧‧ back frame

20‧‧‧Connector

20a‧‧‧Installation surface

20b‧‧‧ docking

22‧‧‧foot

25‧‧‧ slots

26a‧‧‧ first side

26b‧‧‧ second side

30‧‧‧Base

32‧‧‧ holding lips

38‧‧‧Base groove

50a, 50b‧‧‧ terminals

51a, 51b‧‧‧ terminal block

52a, 52b‧‧‧ Body Department

53a, 53b‧‧‧ solder resist notch

54a, 54b‧‧‧ tail

55a, 55b‧‧‧ adjustment notch

56a, 56b‧‧‧Contacts

57a, 57b‧‧‧ back frame

59‧‧‧ shoulder

8‧‧‧ circuit board

D1‧‧‧ first direction

D2‧‧‧ second direction

L1, L2, L3‧‧‧ distance

W1, W2, W3‧‧‧ width

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not limitation, in the drawings in FIG Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a connector; Figure 3 shows a cutaway line taken along line 3-3 of the embodiment of Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a partially exploded perspective view taken along line 4-4 of the embodiment of Figure 2; Figure 5 shows a section taken along line 5-5 of the embodiment of Figure 2; Figure 6 shows a side view of an embodiment of a plurality of terminals; Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of Figure 6; Figure 8 shows a partial perspective view of an embodiment of a right angle connector; Figure 9 A cutaway perspective view taken along line 9-9 of the embodiment of Fig. 8 is shown; and Fig. 10 shows a side view of the two terminals for use with the embodiment of Fig. 8.

The detailed description below describes a plurality of exemplary embodiments and is not intended to be limited to the specifically disclosed combinations. Accordingly, the various features disclosed herein can be combined together to form a plurality of additional combinations that are not shown for the sake of clarity.

It should be noted that the structures shown are not intended to be limiting. For example, although the illustrated embodiment shows multiple terminals on either side of a longitudinal slot, multiple terminals may be located on only one side. Additionally, although a plurality of terminals are shown as being aligned in a vertical pair such that a differential pair can be placed in a single vertical plane, a small amount of offset can be employed. In addition, multiple terminals need not be used in pairs but can be used in a single row (eg, only one upper row or lower row). Thus, many variations can be provided to the connector structure shown and thereby The structure shown is not intended to be limiting.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 7, a connector 20 having a mounting surface 20a and a pair of joint faces 20b is configured to be mounted on a circuit board 8 on a mounting surface 20a. The connector 20 has a slot 25 extending longitudinally along a base 30 at the mating face 20b, and a plurality of terminals 50a, 50b disposed on either side of the slot 25. The connector 20 is configured to receive an edge card 10 and can be considered a vertical connector.

The illustrated embodiment includes terminals 50a, 50b that are disposed together in a plane orthogonal to the supported circuit substrate 8 to form a differential pair. More than one foot 22 can be used to secure the connector 20 to the circuit substrate 8. As shown, the terminals of a first side 26a of the slot 25 in the longitudinal direction form two rows 51a, 51b. These same terminals can be flipped over and used on a second side 26b of the slot 25 to form the same two rows. Thus, as shown, both terminal 50a and terminal 50b can be used on both sides of slot 25 to provide opposite rows of terminals 50a, 50b. Each of the terminals 50a, 50b includes a body portion 52a, 52b, a tail portion 54a, 54b, and a contact portion 56a, 56b. As can be appreciated, the illustrated terminals 50a, 50b have the tail portions 54a, 54b, the body portions 52a, 52b, and the contact portions 56a, 56b disposed such that they are all in the same plane and thus the terminals 50a, 50b can be considered to be Flat terminal. The contact portions 56a, 56b are formed in a ring shape and include back frames 57a, 57b that help support the contact portions 56a, 56b. As can be appreciated, the annulus formed by the contact portion 56a and the back frame 57a is elongate in shape (rather than circular) and it is desirable that most suitable loops will be somewhat elongated to provide the desired Contact force. Preferably, the terminal 50a is elongated such that L1 is greater than 2 times W1 (L1 The distance W1 is the width at the contact portion from the starting point of the ring to the center of the contact portion, and more preferably, L1 is greater than three times W1 to provide a desired modulus of elasticity (as explained later). Likewise, L2 can be greater than twice W2, and more preferably, L2 is greater than three times W2.

The terminals 50a, 50b include anti-solder recesses 53a, 53b that help prevent solder wicking onto the body portions 52a, 52b while also providing the desired impedance. Adjustment. The body portions 52a, 52b may also include adjustment notches 55a, 55b to adjust the impedance of the terminals 50a, 50b. To help secure the terminal 50b in place, a shoulder 59 extends beyond the plane formed by the body portion 52b, the tail portion 54b and the contact portion 56b of the terminal 50b. The shoulder 59 is configured to engage the base recess 38 and the terminal 50b is secured to the base 30 by engaging the base recess 38 and the retaining lip 32 (and may have protrusions or recesses to aid engagement of the terminal 50b).

As can be appreciated, the terminal 50b is inserted into the base 30 in a first direction D1 and the terminal 50a is inserted into the base 30 in a second direction D2. In the illustrated embodiment, the first direction D1 is opposite the second direction D2. Such a structure is advantageous in a connector constructed as a vertical direct connection system, in particular in a system in which two rows of terminals are provided on one side of a slot and the two rows of terminals are spaced apart in the vertical direction. . Alternatively, the slot 25 can be disposed in a right angle connector, and in such a system, the body portion 52a, 52b or the ring will need to provide a 90 degree bend (of course, if the connector 20 continuing to use the stitched terminal, the base 30 will require a plurality of suitable openings to enable the plurality of The terminals 50a, 50b are inserted).

The connector 20 is shown such that the base 30 is arranged such that a plurality of terminals 50a, 50b are exposed to air over a significant portion of their length. This provides a lower effective dielectric constant and can help increase the efficiency of the connector system.

As described above, although the terminals 50a, 50b are arranged to provide a differential pair located in a vertical plane (assuming that the supported circuit substrate 8 defines a horizontal plane), such a structure would be used for designs requiring high density. In such a configuration, a differential pair can be spaced apart by a ground pair and thereby provide a repeating signal-to-ground structure. However, unlike conventional single-ended systems, the connector shown places a differential pair between the grounds. Thus, the density of the particular system is significantly greater than conventional systems. For example, assuming a 0.8 mm pitch, the illustrated embodiment can provide three channels in 4.8 mm compared to a connector having a ground-signal-signal pattern, while a conventional system can only provide two channels. Thus, the illustrated embodiment can be considered to be a connection to a conventional ground-signal-signal pattern while still providing good electrical performance due to the fact that the signal terminals forming the differential pair can be shielded on both sides. The device has a 50% increase in density. Thus, while still supporting a slot designed to interface with a card edge interface, the illustrated connector design provides an edge coupled differential pair.

In the illustrated embodiment, the tails 54a, 54b of the terminals 50a, 50b are configured to be mounted to the support circuit substrate 8 via surface mount mounting (SMT). This is beneficial where the density of the tails 54a, 54b is such that there is no space for the guide holes positioned adjacent to each other. For example, if The via holes are 0.49 mm in diameter, and the terminals 50a, 50b are arranged at a pitch of 0.8 mm to leave 0.2 mm between the adjacent two via holes of the circuit substrate 8 (from the viewpoint of manufacturing and performance, this is not a Satisfied). However, the SMT can be modified for such an arrangement because the plurality of pads on the supported circuit substrate 8 can be made small and the plurality of signal vias can be compared to the tails that need to support the press fit or the through holes (through-hole tail) The guide hole is smaller. Alternatively, where there is more space or an offset tail, the tails 54a, 54b can be configured as a press fit or through-hole structure (e.g., conventional deformation on the tail type). Thus, the illustrated structure, while beneficial, is not intended to be limiting.

As noted above, the above configuration shows that the tail portions 54a, 54b will be inserted into a formed base 30 (e.g., the terminals 50a, 50b will be mated to the base 30). Such a structure is cost effective and beneficial, especially if a larger number of terminals will be placed close to each other (e.g., when the connector 20 will provide a high density structure). Alternatively, the plurality of terminals 50a, 50b are secured to a sheet by an insert-molding operation (as is well known). The sheet is then inserted into the base and a plastic wing of the sheet will help support the plurality of terminals 50a, 50b in the desired position. Such a structure is common in right angle connectors.

Terminals having a toroidal configuration can provide beneficial impedance control and provide a benefit of a lower modulus of elasticity regardless of whether they are pins or inserts. This provides a smaller permanent set when the terminals 50a, 50b engage the mating contacts and allow for a larger operating range. The flexibility of the modified spring arm makes the contact portions 56a, 56b tougher (its The opposite is expected because the nature of the annular thin linear frame is more fragile in its face. In addition, the annular structure also provides less rotation of the contacts 56a, 56b during the docking process, which helps to keep the docking force smaller. In addition, fretting is reduced. Finally, the position of the contact portions 56a, 56b (due to the increased distance between the contact portions 56a, 56b and the back frames 57a, 57b compared to the width of the conventional terminal) is easily controlled.

Another embodiment is shown in Figures 8-10. A connector 120 having a mounting side 120a and a mating side 120b is shown with a base 130 (which is partially cut away to better illustrate certain details), the base 130 supporting a plurality of sheets 135, and The pedestal 130 includes more than one slot 125 (although two slots 125 are shown, only one slot 125 can be directly disposed and is considered to be within the scope of the present application). Each slot 125 has a first side 126a and a second side 126b.

The sheet 135 holds a plurality of terminals, such as the terminals 150a, 150b, and helps ensure that the contacts 156a, 156b are positioned in the slots 125. The terminals 150a, 150b include a body portion 152a, 152b, a tail portion 154a, 154b, and a contact portion 156a, 156b (similar to the terminals 50a, 50b). One difference is that the terminals 150a, 150b are configured for a right angle connector rather than for a vertical connector and thereby provide a 90 degree bend between the tail 154a and the contact portion 156a (as for a right angle connector) Conventional terminal).

As can be appreciated, the contacts 156a, 156b have an annular configuration and are supported by the back frames 157a, 157b, respectively. The contact portion 156a is configured such that the resulting ring has a length L3 greater than a width W3 (similar to the terminals 50a, 50b described above). For the purpose of explanation, the width W3 should It is measured as the maximum value along the length L3. Preferably, the length L3 will be at least twice the width W3. As can be appreciated, the structure of the connector 120 provides a lower density docking interface because the terminals can be arranged in a repeating ground-signal-signal pattern. However, while employing a medium dielectric constant (e.g., having a dielectric constant of 3.5), the annular structure allows for a lower impedance value (thereby supporting an 85 ohm structure). Conventional terminals require the use of a susceptor material having a dielectric constant greater than 4, and such materials are more difficult to fabricate from the standpoint of molding. Thus, it has been confirmed that the structure shown is well suited for providing a 85 ohm connector system while the base of the connector is formed of a material having a dielectric constant of less than four. Lower impedance connector system.

Thus, an embodiment of a connector 120 includes a base 130 having a slot 125 having a first side 126a and a second side 126b. A terminal 150a of a first row is held by the base 130, and each terminal 150a of the first row has a first contact portion 156a at a first side 126a of the slot 125, and each first contact portion The 156a has an annular structure in which the ring has a length L3 and a width W3, and the length L3 is at least twice the width W3. The connector 120 further includes a second row of terminals 150b held by the base 130. Each terminal 150b in the second row has a second contact portion 156b on the second side 126b of the slot 125, and each second contact portion 156b has an annular structure, wherein the ring has a length L3 and a width W3, the length L3 being at least twice the width W3.

The application presented herein is illustrated by its preferred and exemplary embodiments. Various features. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the scope of the invention.

22‧‧‧foot

25‧‧‧ slots

26a‧‧‧ first side

26b‧‧‧ second side

30‧‧‧Base

32‧‧‧ holding lips

50a, 50b‧‧‧ terminals

52a‧‧‧ Body Department

54a, 54b‧‧‧ tail

56a, 56b‧‧‧Contacts

8‧‧‧ circuit board

Claims (8)

A connector includes: a base having a slot, the slot extending longitudinally along the base, the base being configured to be mounted on a circuit substrate; a first terminal having a first contact And a second terminal having a second contact portion, wherein the first contact portion and the second contact portion are vertically aligned on a first side of the slot, wherein the first terminal and The second terminal is configured to provide a differential pair while the first terminal and the second terminal are in a plane orthogonal to the circuit substrate. The connector of claim 1, wherein the contact portions of the first terminal and the second terminal are configured in a ring shape. The connector of claim 2, wherein each of the rings has a length and a width, and the length is at least twice the width. The connector of claim 3, further comprising: a third terminal having a third contact portion; and a fourth terminal having a fourth contact portion, the third contact portion and the fourth contact portion Vertically aligned on a second side of the slot. The connector of claim 4, wherein the first contact portion, the second contact portion, the third contact portion, and the fourth contact portion are in a single plane. A connector comprising: a base having a slot, the slot having a first side and a second side; a first row of terminals held by the base, each terminal in the first row having a first contact portion on a first side of the slot, each first contact portion having an annular structure Wherein the annular structure has a length and a width, the length being at least twice the width; and a second row of terminals held by the base, each of the second rows The terminal has a second contact portion on a second side of the slot, each second contact portion having an annular structure, wherein the annular structure has a length and a width, the length being the width At least twice as much. The connector of claim 6, wherein the connector is a right angle connector. The connector of claim 6, wherein the connector is a vertical connector.